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The story opens with Richard Sifkitz, a commercial artist and widower, visiting his doctor, and staring at the results of his physical. Richard's cholesterol is dangerously high, largely due to his high fast food intake. The doctor tells him an interesting anecdote in relation to the number. He likens Richard's metabolism to a team of workmen who clear the various junk foods that Richard ingests. As Richard ages, these metabolic workmen tire out and begin to slow down, resulting in heart trouble. This metaphor strikes Richard, and he becomes rather obsessed with the idea.

Richard becomes determined to lose weight, and sets up a stationary bike in his basement. At first, he hangs a map of the United States on the wall, imagining himself traveling to a foreign destination with each mile. As time passes, though, the notion of the metabolic workmen enter his mind again, and he paints a bizarre landscape on a mural, depicting four tired workers clearing a fat-laden road. Richard begins to lose weight, but as he does, he begins to see the workmen in his dreams. He is then gripped by another vision, in which he paints the garage of the youngest of his metabolic workmen, who has committed suicide. These events cause the mural Richard has painted to transform, warping into a more nightmarish appearance with every passing day. Despite these warning signs, though, Richard cannot stop exercising; he enters a trance when he rides, and seems to enter the mysterious landscape as he does.

When Richard goes back to his doctor, he finds that his cholesterol levels have dropped to safe levels. He is pleased, and tries to stop exercising, but cannot resist the lure of the stationary bike. Richard even goes so far as to try dismantling the machine, but he suddenly finds himself riding on the bike "one last time".

When Richard goes on this ride, he finds himself on the road of his mural once more - face to face with the three remaining workmen on the crew. They speak to him, accusing him of ruining their lives; without a stream of fatty foods, they have stopped receiving income for their work. The workmen list their expenses, and explain that their fellow member committed suicide out of desperation. Richard realizes that the men are conglomerations of people he has met before in life, and tries to tell them that they are nothing but imaginary figures. Their pleas and threats of violence, though, convince him otherwise. Richard agrees to relax his diet, but makes one request - he wants a cap that the workmen wear. As he steps back through the mural, he begins to wonder when he will convince himself that the strange experience was all a dream.

The story jumps forward to a few weeks later. Richard now eats dessert and has finally escaped the bike. When his mail comes one afternoon, he sees a package which contains a baseball cap with the word "LIPID" written on it. He smiles as he dons the cap and prepares to go to work painting.

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